Motherhood Meets Mastectomies

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Anesthesia

Visiting a hospital evokes strong emotions for some. I’ve been to see new babies, old people, and those in between. I’ve watched the circle of life unfold many times. Today was a most joyous visit!My newest little nephew was born this morning after a speedy early morning (think 3am) delivery. He is adorable. Already all boy and totally chill. His glowing mommy told me the doctor called him a “Mack truck”. Weighing in at 8lb 1oz, he was born without the aide of an epidural. Oh man!His mother and I had talked earlier this week about epidurals and how much we love them. My older daughter’s delivery wasn’t the smoothest as my epidural didn’t kick in until after she was born, but my younger one’s delivery was easy breezy beautiful. (ugh, covergirl marketing is way too good). Anesthesia is a blessing, but often scary too. I’m really not worried about having anesthesia for my surgery this fall, but my oldest is getting tubes in her ears and probably her adenoids removed in a few weeks. It is freaking me out. I’m trying to tell myself that it’s very routine and they do it all the time. We’ve chosen to have her do her procedure at a surgery center that her doctor works out of. He has hand picked the anesthesiologists there and trusts them implicitly. That’s not always the case with who is put into his rotation at the nationally lauded hospital where he also operates out of.You really have to choose your doctors carefully, research them and trust them. But they’re people too, they have bad days; they get off their game sometimes. I always say that one of the reasons I fear flying is because I’m an engineer and people like me built the planes. I wasn’t always 100% precise (then again, if my code wasn’t totally right, no one had to risk their lives over it). But what if Joe Schmo Plane Engineer also mucked up occasionally? And what if Dr. Stick a Tube in Her Throat isn’t having a good day!? The thought of it makes me sick.I just have to trust that she/he knows what they’re doing, has done it a million times and everything will go well; and my little girl won’t hold her ears in fear of pain every time a big truck passes. She will hear better and therefore learn better. She will not get sick as much and therefore not build up a resistance to important medication. And there’s a slim chance it will help her sleep and don’t we all know how I’d feel about that. I can’t wait for this to be behind us.